HULME
HALL NEAR ALLOSTOCK

Grosvenor
and Shakerley Families

Grid
Ref. SJ 725 724
13 May 2000, 16 March 2010 & 29 August 2015

The main building in 2000

Interior in 2010

With scaffolding in 2010

As seen over the bridge in 2010

The bridge over the moat

The view over the bridge in Aug 2015

HULME HALL: A RUIN RESCUED

Hulme Hall was formerly a moated house but
part of the moat was filled in when I last visited. The remains of an old stone bridge
can still be seen. As noted below, it has been used as a farmhouse
since at least 1810. On the northern side of the current plain brick
house there was an extension of more recent date. It was disappointing to see further deterioration of the property between 2000 and 2010. The pictures from May 2000, with a 1.3 megapixel Fuji MX-700 camera, show the roof and windows still intact. It was possible to approach the property where the moat has been partly filled in. In 2010 the property was fenced off and was in a dangerous state of decay as shown by three lower pictures, taken with a Canon 450D SLR camera and a 55-250 mm lens. However, this Grade II* listed building and the bridge, also Grade II* has undergone a major restoration to produce a six bedroom, five bathroom luxury home set in 3 acres. The work has been undertaken in conjunction with English Heritage. The images accompanying the estate agents' full page spread in the Macclesfield Express in September 2014 show a truly remarkable tranformation. In 2015 I passed again and from the public footpath one can see the hall over the bridge, with its tank stops still in place.

The following notes are from the Lysons' Magna
Britannia, Vol. 2, published in 1810, page 536.

"The
township of Allostock lies five miles S. by W. from Knutsford, in the hundred
of Northwich; the manor was conveyed to the Grosvenors in the reign of Edward
1 by John de Lostock. The Grosvenors had their chief seat at Hulme in
this township, (purchased in the reign of Henry III from Gralam de Runchamp)
till the death of Robert Grosvenor Esq. in whom the male line of the elder
branch became extinct in 1465, when his estates were divided between his daughters
and co-heirs. The manor of Allostock is now (1810) divided between Sir
John Leicester Bart. (of Tabley) who possesses two fifths, and C. W. J. Shakerley
Esq. of Somerford, who possesses three fifths. The manor of Hulme
appears to have been wholly vested in the Shakerleys in the reign of Henry
VII, and Hulme Hall was for many generations the seat of that family before
they moved to Somerford-Radnor. The hall is occupied as a farm
house."

"From the "Whipping
Stocks" I ride down the Holmes Chapel road as far as Rudheath and Allostock,
once the home of the Grosvenors. Very different is the modern farm -
Hulme Hall - which stands on the site of the old manor house, from Eaton,
where the Duke of Westminster now resides."

Fletcher Moss mentions the
house in his Pilgrimages in Cheshire and Shropshire, published in Manchester
in 1901 and reprinted by E. J. Morten, Didsbury, 1972. There is an illustration
of the stone bridge on page 27 and Moss reports references to Sir Robert Grosvenor
of Hulme in 1386. He mentions a deed of purchase for Hulme dated 1234
when Gralam de Lostock sold Hulme to Richard son of Ranulph Grossovenator.
This account is not fully consistent with the one by Lysons. Moss writes:

"There is still a perfect
moat at Hulme with a beautiful stone bridge and an old hall containing parts
of another much older with immense oaken arches and beams."

Given that Moss was writing
around 1900, one is puzzled by his comments. The present buildings on
the site look to date from the 19th century and would have been there in Moss's
time. Could it be that Moss confused Hulme Hall with the nearby Holford
Hall, which is a moated timber-framed building with a stone bridge over the
moat.

There is a short article The
Grosvenours of Hulme in Cheshire Sheaf, 3rd series, 3, 1901, 140-143.
Hulme is mentioned very briefly in Old Cheshire Families and their Seats,
by Lionel M Angus-Butterworth, Sherratt and Hughes, Manchester, 1932, reprinted
by E. J. Morten, Didsbury, 1932.

"About
1234, Richard le Grosvenor acquired Holme (sic) a moated house, but
it was not until the following century that Sir Robert Grosvenor gained a
great addition to his estate by marrying the heiress of Pulford."

"The
house, now a farm, was the ancient home of the Grosvenors and Shakerleys.
It has been encased in brick but within are a 17th century staircase and medieval
timbers. Ormerod, iii, 153".

Family History at Hulme
Hall: Grosvenor and Shakerley

The following pedigrees are taken in part
from Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 105th edition 1969, with additions
from George Ormerod's History of Cheshire.

The first tree shows the complicated manner
in which the Shakerley family inherited Hulme from the Grosvenors. The family trees
show connections to other prominent local families such as Venables, Fitton,
Legh and Booth.

Grosvenor

1. Sir
Thomas Grosvenour, Kt., was knighted about 1429 (1 Henry IV) and died
in 1429. He married Joane, the daughter of Sir Richard Venables of Kinderton.
(Later she married Thomas Boothe of Barton in Lancashire in 1432.)
Sir Thomas Grosvenour had four sons - Robert, Raufe, Thomas and Randle and
two daughters, Margery and Joane. Raufe was the second son and he was the
ancestor of the Grosvenours of Eaton, later Dukes of Westminster. The eldest
son, Robert, succeeded his father.

2. Robert
Grosvenour Esq. married Joanne, daughter of Laurence Fitton of Gawsworth
in 1415 (3 Hen V). He died in 1464 and she died
21 Edw. IV. Robert and Joanne had six daughters. Elizabeth married
Peter Dutton; Emma (Elizabeth according to Burke) married
John Legh of Booths; Agnes married William
Stanley of Hooton, Katherine married Richard Wynnington, Margery died
unmarried; Margaret married Thomas Leycester of Tabley in 1464.

3. Emma Grosvenour, married John Legh of Booths and later
married Raufe Egerton in 1474. John and Emma had one son, John.

4.
John Legh of Booths married Ann, dau. of Sir William Booth
of Dunham Massey. Ann's second husband was Geoffrey Shakerley
who was a widower with a son Peter Shakerley by his first wife,
Joane Langley.

5.
Elizabeth Legh, dau. and heiress of John Legh succeeded
to Hulme and her grandmother's share of the Grosvenour estate
but the Legh estate went to male heirs of her father. Elizabeth
married her stepbrother (they had no shared parent) Peter
Shakerley, who was the heir to Geoffrey Shakerley as shown
in the first generation of the Shakerley tree below.

Shakerley

The tree below, showing the family until the
end of the 19th century, has connections with many neighbouring families including
Venables, Legh and Mainwaring. Like their near neighbours, the Leicesters
of Tabley, the family ran out of male heirs in the 18th century. The heiress,
Eliza, married Charles Buckworth and their son, Charles Watkin John Buckworth,
then took the name of Shakerley. The Shakerley family lived at Hulme and from
the 18th century at a new house in Somerford near Congleton.

1. Geoffrey
Shakerleyof Shakerley in Lancashire, living at
the time of Henry VIII, married first Joan, sister of Robert Langley of
Edgecroft by whom he had (with a dau. Margaret, d.s.p.) two sons,
William and Peter. He married second, Anne, widow of John
Legh of Booths, Cheshire, and daughter of Sir William Booth Kt., of
Dunham Massey, Cheshire, but had no further issue. He was succeeded
by his eldest son, Peter. There was a further son William, still living
in 1536. Geoffrey Shakerley's son by his first wife then married his second
wife's daughter by her first husband!

2. Peter
Shakerley of Shakerley, living at the time of Henry VIII, married
Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Legh of Booths (who was the
son of John Legh of Booths by Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Robert
Grosvenor, of Hulme in Cheshire. Peter was succeeded by his son
Geoffrey.

3.
Geoffrey Shakerley of Hulme, Cheshire, married firstly the
daughter of Thomas Holland and secondly Isabella, the daughter of
Thomas Venables, baron of Kinderton and had six sons and four daughters.
He made a will in 1536, died 5 June 1547 and was succeeded by his
eldest son, Peter.

4.
Peter Shakerley of Hulme, married Elizabeth, 2nd daughter
and co-heir of Sir Randal Mainwaring of Over Peover, Cheshire.
He died 6 Jan 1553 and was succeeded by his son Geoffrey. Elizabeth
then married Christopher Holford
of Holford in 1561 and lived until 1601.

5. Geoffrey
Shakerley of Hulme, Sheriff of
Cheshire, 1610, married Jane, daughter of Sir George Beeston,
Kt., of Beeston in Cheshire in 1652, and had with other
issue Hugh. He died 1618.

6. Hugh
Shakerley, married Margaret, daughter of Thomas
Bunbury, of Stanney in Wirral and died before his father
leaving his son Peter successor to his grandfather.
He had other issue.

7. Peter
Shakerley of Hulme, married Margaret, dau. of
Philip (William according to Burke, Philip in
Ormerod) Oldfield of Bradwall, and by her had
a son Geoffrey and four daughters. Peter died in
1624 and his widow married William Vernon, the Cheshire
Antiquary

8. Sir
Geoffrey Shakerley, Kt., of Hulme, was a
Royalist during the Civil War. He was at one
time governor of Chester Castle. He married
firstly Katherine (died 4 April 1673) daughter
of William Pennington of Muncaster, Cumberland,
by whom he had two sons, Peter and Geoffrey
and two daughters, Ann and Catherine. Sir Geoffrey
then married Jane dau. of John Dolben of Segroyt,
County of Denbigh and had two further sons who
were twins, George and John. The latter died
in 1709. Sir Geoffrey died 1696 aged 78
and was buried at Nether Peover. His second
wife died aged 59 on 2 May 1707 and was buried
at Nether Peover. (see monument below)

9. Peter
Shakerley, successor to Sir Geoffrey
was Governor of Chester, married Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir Thomas Mainwaring, 1st
Bt. of Over Peover and d.s.p. 1726 when
he was succeeded by his half brother George.

9. Geoffrey
Shakerley, married Frances, dau. of
Francis Keynell of the Island of Nevis and
d.s.p.

9. George
Shakerley of Hulme and Gwersylt, born
12 September 1682 and died 2 Feb. 1756 aged
73. He succeeded his half brother Peter
at Hulme. He married Anne, dau. of
Sir Walter Bagot, Kt. of Blythfield, Co.
Staffordshire. She was born on 28 Feb. 1678,
died at Gwersylt on 25 July 1767 and was
buried at Nether Peover. They had sons,
Geoffrey and Peter, shown below, John (1
April 1711 to 15 February 1725/6) and George
who was born 21 March 1715/16 and entered
holy orders. There were also six daughters
of whom Frances married in 1748 to Sir Watkin
Williams-Wynn, 3rd Bt. of Wynnstay in Denbighshire.

10. Geoffrey
Shakerley, born 1706, married Anne,
daughter and co-heir of John Hurleston
of Newton, Chester. He died without
issue in 1733 and his wife then married
on 11 January 1738 the 10th
Viscount Kilmorey.

10. Peter
Shakerley of Hulme was born at Gwersylt
on 30 April 1709 and died 10 October
1781; he was buried at Astbury. He succeeded
his father and married firstly Ann daughter
of John Amson, of Lees on 27 July 1737.
They had one daughter, Eliza his sole
heiress. He married secondly, on 13
Mar 1765, Margaret, dau. of Roger Morris
of Netherby, by whom he had no issue.

11.
Eliza
Shakerley married 20
March 1764, by a settlement dated
18 March 1764 to Charles Buckworth
Esq. sometime Lieutenant in the
Royal Navy Fusiliers and afterwards
at Park Place, Bishopgate Heath,
Berkshire. He died 22 Aug. 1783.
Eliza died 27 Sept. 1811. Among
their children were Charles who
succeeded to the Shakerley estate
and also Peter and Joseph who are
mentioned below.

12. Charles
Watkin John Buckworth,
born 15 June 1767, lived
at Somerford Park, born 15 June
1767, and by an act of Parliament
in 1788 assumed the surname
and arms of Shakerley and was
high sheriff of Cheshire 1791
and died 20 September 1834.
He married Dorothy (died 1820)
daughter of Jacob Moreland of
Copplethwaite Hall in Westmorland.
He was succeeded by his son
Charles. Details of two other
children Geoffrey Joseph and
Frances Margaretta are shown
below.

13. Sir
Charles Peter Shakerley
1st Bt.,
of Somerford Park, born
27 Dec. 1792, was educated
at Brasenose, Oxford and
was Sheriff of Chester in
1837. He was created Baronet
on 30 July 1838. He married
firstly 26 Feb. 1819 to
Laure Angelique Rosalba
d'Avaray, daughter of the
Duke (Ormerod describes
him as the Marquis) D’Avaray.
This marriage ended in divorce
and Peter then married on
20 December 1831 to Jessie
Matilda (died 8 Aug. 1902)
the dau. of James Scott
of Rotherfield Park, Hampshire
and had issue. Sir
Charles died 14 Sept. 1857
and was succeeded by his
eldest son Charles Watkin
Shakerley.

10. Frances,
daughter of George Shakerley, married
1748 to Sir Watkins William-Wynn, 3rd Bt. of Wynnstay in Denbighshire

9. John Shakerley, twin brother of George,
d.s.p. 1709.

Somerford Park, the later seat of the Shakerley's,
is described in Cheshire Country Houses, by Peter de Figueiredo and
Julian Treuhertz, Phillimore, Chichester, 1988. It was a large Georgian house
and was demolished in 1926. The centre of the house was of red brick, built
about 1720, and two wings were added by C. W. J. Shakerley in the late 18th
century. The house was further enlarged by the designer Salvin about 1859-60.
The Shakerleys had owned land in Somerford since the reign of Henry III. Bibliography:
Burke’s Peerage; J. P. Neale, Views of Seats (2nd Series); and Victoria
County History.

Many of the Shakerleys are buried in the Shakerley
chapel, in the south aisle of St. Oswald's at Lower
Peover, where several memorials may be seen. Shown below are the marble
plaque in Latin, dedicated to Geoffrey Shakerley, who died in 1696 and the
plaque commemorating his wife, Katherine, the daughter of William Pennington
of Muncaster (generation 8 in the tree). There are separate memorials to George
Shakerley of Gwersylt and his wife Ann, the daughter of Sir Walter Bagot,
shown above in generation 9. She died on 25 July 1767.

Memorial to Sir Geoffrey Shakerley
who died in 1696 aged 78.

Memorial to Sir Geoffrey's first wife
Katherine Shakerley, who died in 1673